Another yucky day

Yesterday was gorgeous, the sun was shining, it was in the 60's (which is really warm for us, lol). Today, following Amnesty's lead I had good intentions of taking the kids to a protest. It's cold and rainy and just yucky. Saige was coughing ALL night long and Rylan has the sniffles (did I mention I am plagued with the never ending cold?) so I'm keeping them home. It makes me sad, tolerance, acceptance and standing up for what is right, what better way to set an example?

Saige's teacher comes back Monday, she has been on maternity leave for 8 weeks. I think she is nervous, she is sad to see the sub go. I think she had forgotten that she wasn't her actual teacher. It has to be confusing for a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds. She is also a bit disappointed that her teacher wont be bringing the baby to school so they can play with him, lol.

On another note- I am half way through Christmas shopping- and I have done it all with cash! Well my surveys have helped tremendously, I was skeptical, and it took a while to get enough to cash out on any of them but once I did- it hasn't stopped yet. They are mostly small, 10-30 dollars here and there, but I have used it to buy gifts. Some offer rewards, I have used those for gifts as well. Others are Amazon gift cards, I have quite a bit added up. I spent some a while back but still plenty to get some more gifts. I can't decide though. The thing is, if I went to amazon with nothing in the account, in a matter of minutes I could fill the cart 12 times over. However having a balance seems to make it much harder. I spend hours looking at everything and trying to decide but I can't, lol.

Rylan is hard to shop for. He is at an age that is rough. Truth is he has more than any 10 kids need. He is too big for baby toys, but too small for big boy toys. I have a hard time bringing myself to pay outrageous amounts of money for toys he will outgrow in 6 months. He spends most of his time playing in cardboard boxes and with soda bottles- he screws the lid on, makes me take it back off and he puts it back on- this can go one for hours. Saige on the other hand is too easy to buy for, everywhere I look I see 10 things I know she would love. I know Rylan wont know the difference if he gets less, but she will and she will get upset. Between us and grandparents, there are few toys left that we don't have or have had at some point.

We went through a few weeks ago and cleared out a bunch- we need to do it again. I thought it would be hard to get Saige to agree, but I explained that they would get more toys and that there are kids with very few or no toys that would really love the ones she doesn't play with. That made her sad and she was ready to give away everything except the stuffed animals, I actually had to veto her giving away a few things. Some I know she would miss and the others were Rylan's, lol, in fact she was quite ready to give away all of his toys. I may cause bodily harm to anyone who gives them any more stuffed animals.

I am considering starting another blog. I rely on blogs to help me find awesome deals and free stuff while I shop. However, I can not find a blog that is dedicated or even includes Price Chopper. I have, and do find great deals there. This week the total was 111.98 and after coupons it was 32 something. I know I don't wrote well but it's hard to screw up a list, lol.My cash Christmas is in part due to my shopping savings. We have bought way more than ever, and name brands too, and spent less than ever. Our grocery budget (which includes pet food and toiletries) is now under 200 a month for the four of us. I know I can do better than that and we end up with stuff we don't really need, but I am happy with that amount and we get extras, a treat is always nice. Since Home Depot closed I have had my fingers crossed for a new grocery store. Chances are good we wont get anything for a while, obviously there aren;t many expanding businesses right now, but I can hope.